What is Excellent Response?

We will attend any life risk emergency incident on Merseyside within 10 minutes of being requested.

We will aim to achieve this on 90% of occasions

Response to Road Traffic Collisions (RTC)

People involved in road traffic collisions in Merseyside can be assured of a
prompt and effective response. Our response standard in relation to road traffic
collisions where persons are reportedly trapped is an attendance at the incident
within 10 minutes of the first notification.

We aim to achieve this standard on
90% of occasions. Our response is supplemented by the deployment of the Search
and Rescue Team to all road traffic collisions. The Search and Rescue Team are
trained in specialist skills to the highest national standards and significantly
enhance our ability to safely free people who are trapped.

We recognise that although we attend relatively few road traffic collisions where people are trapped, a high level of deaths and injuries are sustained in these incidents! As a Fire and Rescue Service we recognise that we are well placed to address this and influence behaviour and as such we currently deliver our flagship road safety campaign, Drive to Arrive (D2A), to target the most at risk group of 16-20yr old males in schools and colleges.

Urban Search
And Rescue (USAR)

The people of Merseyside benefit from a highly proficient
Urban Search and Rescue capability. We have a comprehensively trained team,
which is equipped with the latest equipment, provided by the Government, to respond to
any major incidents which require this type of response, such as a collapsed
building.

The firefighters and search and rescue canines of the USAR team are
available 24hrs a day and ready for deployment anywhere in Merseyside, or beyond
to assist in any incidents which require this specialist expertise. This
capability is maintained to provide resilience on a national level for large-
scale incidents and accidents.

Water Rescue

Those people who use Merseyside’s
waterways are safer as a result of our commitment to ensuring we have the
highest levels of water rescue capability. Merseyside has significant risks
related to waterways, so to address these risks we have developed a response
capability to swift and still water.

Our Marine Rescue Team, which is
continually available on immediate response, is situated in the River Mersey
Community Fire and Rescue Station on the Merseytravel pontoon at the Pier Head.
The team are available to respond immediately to incidents on the River Mersey
and dock system, from Fort Perch Rock at the mouth of the Mersey to the Runcorn
Bridge. They provide an essential element of the response to potential
emergencies at Liverpool John Lennon Airport as well as effectively dealing with
other emergencies on the river.

To supplement this we have highly skilled tidal
and fast flowing water response technicians within the Search and Rescue Team
who are continually and immediately available to attend emergencies in moving
water wherever it may be.

The Service water rescue response capability is
structured to align with guidance issued by the Department for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs Flood Response National Enhancement Project. The Service has
five type B rescue boat teams registered with Department for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs that are able to respond to national emergencies resulting
from large-scale flooding, such as in Cumbria in 2009 where we assisted in the
rescue effort.

The Service has further enhanced its ability to quickly and
safely respond to incidents on water, mud and unstable ground with a rescue
hovercraft. The hovercraft will be immediately deployable to incidents anywhere
in the County and will assist with the provision of a safe system of work when
responding to these types of incident.

To ensure our firefighters can work
safely in and around still water, mud and unstable ground, all of our
firefighters are trained as still water responders. The necessary equipment
to respond to this type of incident safely is also carried on every rescue appliance
in Merseyside.

Rescue from Height

Every firefighter is trained to work safely at
height with ropes and every rescue appliance carries a well equipped rope access
kit. In addition, we can immediately deploy the Search and Rescue Team who are
highly skilled with rope access and rescue equipment to perform more complex
rescues across Merseyside at any time. These incidents are usually high-risk and
are protracted by their nature; to reflect this; the team is highly trained and
rigorously exercised in the use and application of this technical equipment.

Hazardous
Materials and Environmental Protection

We reduce risks from incidents which
involve hazardous materials or threaten possible contamination of the
environment through the development of a highly qualified and well equipped
Hazardous Material Response Team. They are located at Kirkdale Community Fire
Station and are available 24/7 to respond to these types
of incidents as well as providing fire cover as a support appliance.

The Service
will further develop partnerships within the chemical and environmental
protection industries to help sites return to normal business as soon as
possible following incidents of this type.

Detection Identification & Monitoring
(DIM)

The DIM vehicle and equipment enables:

Detection of a wide range of
chemical or radiological hazardous substances.

Monitoring of the
levels of contaminate present and to establish and maintain cordons.

The unit is
supported by a team of highly qualified and trained DIM advisors who have
responded to incidents both on Merseyside and in support of neighbouring Fire
and Rescue Services in the North West.

Chemical, Biological, Radiological and
Nuclear Response

We maintain the capability to respond to incidents involving
CBRN (E) threats both within Merseyside and across the whole country.

The
vehicles and equipment are supplied by the Government and our staff are trained
and frequently exercised to respond to these incidents safely and effectively.

Our primary role is to ensure the safety of the public through the efficient
decontamination of any one person or group of people exposed to these hazards.

Response to Terrorism and Non Terrorist Major Incidents

We train regularly and
are equipped to respond to this type of incident. Working in these circumstances
requires close co-operation with the other blue light services and to secure
this we have agreements in place with both the Merseyside Police and North West
Ambulance Service.

These procedures were used during the civil disturbances
in Liverpool and Birkenhead in 2011 to secure the safety of all involved.

High Volume Pump

As part of the National Resilience capability we maintain a High
Volume Pumping Unit, which is continually available on an immediate response.
This asset has been provided to respond to catastrophic flooding incidents and
is capable of supplying large amounts of water to fight fires.

Our unit has been
deployed in the past to severe flooding in Cumbria and more recently Somerset and also locally in Huyton and Birkenhead. The pump was also deployed to assist with firefighting at Buncefield.

Other Rescues

The people of Merseyside are well served by a comprehensive approach to tackling
a whole variety of emergencies. To address the hazards posed by Merseyside’s
vehicle and railway tunnels we have specialist equipment and suitably trained
firefighters which are strategically located to provide a fast, effective
response to any incident which occurs within the tunnel systems.